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一位网友想知道单词 “need” 作常规动词和作情态动词时的用法。虽然常规动词 “need” 和情态动词 “need” 的意思都是 “需要”，但用法不同。在 “I need water.” 中，“need” 的词性是什么？情态动词 “need” 的否定形式是什么？听节目，学习如何正确使用半情态动词 “need”。

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（关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。）

Phil
Hi, this is Question and Answer of the Week. I'm Phil.

Jiaying
… and I'm Jiaying. 本期节目中要回答的问题来自一位网友。问题是这样的：

Question
您好！我在学习中遇到了 “need” 作为常规动词和情态动词的用法：

Maybe I need to make a calendar for you.
Maybe I need make a calendar for you.

这两句话中 “need” 的用法有错误吗？

Phil
Thank you so much for that question! 'Need' is a little tricky, so I definitely think we should have a close look at it.

Jiaying
“Need” 是半情态动词，也就是说它既可以作情态动词，也可以作常规动词使用。 “Need” 的这两种用法之间，有哪些区别呢？

Phil
Let's start by looking at how it works as a main verb.

Jiaying
好，先来看 “need” 作常规动词时的用法。第一个用法是：如果某人 “need to do something”，意思就是 “必须履行、不得不、需要做某事”，没有其它的选择。

Phil
Yes, and don't forget that when you use 'need' as a main verb before another verb, we put the other verb in the infinitive, and that's always with 'to'.

Jiaying
别忘了，“need” 作常规动词时，后可接不定式 “to do”，也就是 “need to do something（必须、需要做某事）”。来听两个例句。

Examples
You need to study hard before your exam.
（考试前你需要努力学习。）

I need to find out what the questions are going to be about!
（我得弄清考题是关于什么内容的！）

Jiaying
“Need” 作常规动词时的第二个用法是：“need + 名词或名词短语”，表示 “需要某物或某人”。听两个例句。

Examples
You need a calculator for the exam.
（考试时你需要一个计算器。）

I just need a good teacher who can help me!
（我只是需要一位能帮助我的好老师！ ）

Jiaying
在上面的两个例句中，常规动词 “need” 后接名词或名词短语，表示 “需要某物或某人”。

与英语中的大多数动词一样，常规动词 “need” 的否定形式是在它的前面加上 “don't” 或 “doesn't”，也就是 “don't need” 或 “doesn't need”，意思是 “不需要，不想要”，而不是 “必须不”。我们来听两个例句。

Examples
You don't need to bring paper – it's supplied.
（你不需要带纸，到时候会提供给你的。）

She doesn't need to prepare – she knows everything!
（她不需要为考试做准备，她什么都知道！）

Phil
To make questions, we use the auxiliary 'do'.

Jiaying
在疑问句中，根据主语的人称，应用 “do” 或 “does” 等助动词开头。听两个例句。

Examples
Do I need to arrive early?
（我需要早到吗？）

Does she need to register when she arrives?
（她到达考场时需要登记吗？）

Jiaying
与英语中的大多数动词一样，常规动词 “need” 随人称和时态的变化而产生变化。

Examples
She needs to pass the exam for her job.
（她为了工作需要通过考试。）

I needed to pass lots of exams to get this job.
（当时我需要通过很多考试才得到这份工作。）

Phil
So, going back to our question – if you say 'Maybe I need to make a calendar for you' – it's a correct way to use 'need' as a main verb – it's followed by the infinitive with 'to'.

Jiaying
所以本期节目问题中的第一句话是正确的：“Maybe I need to make a calendar for you.” 在这里，“need” 作常规动词使用，后接不定式 “to do”。

那么，“need” 作情态动词时该怎么用呢？

Phil
Well, two very important things – like other modal verbs, when we use it with another verb, we don't use 'to' with the infinitive.

Examples
No one need know how much you studied, as long as you pass.
（只要你通过考试，没人需要知道你学了多少。）

The last question needn't be a problem.
（试卷上的最后一道题不是问题。）

Jiaying
大家可能已经发现了，“need” 作情态动词使用时，本身不随主语的人称的变化而变化。

Phil
And something else you might have seen is that both sentences had a negative meaning. We only usually use the modal form of 'need' in sentences that talk about absence of obligation.

Jiaying
是的，刚刚的例句都是带有否定的含义，句中都使用了像 “no one、nothing” 或 “nobody” 这样的词。我们通常只用情态动词 “need” 来谈论 “无需履行的义务”。另外，情态动词 “need” 不能与名词或名词短语搭配使用。

Examples
Nothing need change – let's carry on like before.
（没有要改的东西，咱们像以前那样做下去。）

Nobody need do anything. It's great as it is.
（没有人需要做任何事情。现在这样就很好。）

Jiaying
接着再来看本期节目问题中的第二句话。我们不能说：“Maybe I need make a calendar for you.” 因为这是肯定句，所以 “need” 不能作情态动词使用。

Phil
While we're talking about negatives with the modal form of 'need', it's important to point out that, like with other modal verbs, we make the negative by putting 'not' after 'need' – and it's often contracted to 'needn't'.

Jiaying
“Need” 作情态动词使用时，它的否定形式是 “need + not”，常缩写为 “needn't”。听两个例句。

Examples
He needn't tell me. I don't need to know.
（他不必告诉我，我不需要知道。）

You needn't buy any more books – these are enough.
（你不需要再买书了，这些就够了。）

Jiaying
同样，当情态动词 “need” 用在疑问句中时，“need” 放在主语前。听两个例句。

Examples
Need I study everything?
（我需要学习所有的东西吗？）

Need I bring a pen?
（我需要带钢笔吗？）

Phil
One final point is to mention that the modal form of 'need' can often sound quite formal.

Jiaying
对的，当 “need” 作情态动词使用时，听上去比较正式。

Phil
OK, we hope that's answered your question!

Jiaying
欢迎你来信提问，我们的微博账号是 “BBC英语教学”。你也可以发邮件给我们，邮箱地址是：questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk 谢谢收听 “你问我答” 节目。Bye, everyone!

Phil
Bye!